Palacio Ducal de Lerma
The Palacio Ducal de Lerma (Ducal Palace of Lerma ), built between 1601 and 1617, is one of the most important buildings in the Spanish architectural style of Herrerianismo . It is essentially based on the construction of the Escorial . The palace stands on the highest point of the large main square ( Plaza Mayor ) of the municipality of Lerma in the province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León .
history
Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas (1553–1625), the favorite and first minister of the Spanish king Philip III. (r. 1598–1621), received at the end of the 16th century, in addition to his inherited dignity as Margrave of Denia, the newly created title "Duke of Lerma", although he himself had no personal or family ties to this place. However, his uncle Don Cristóbal de Rojas y Sandoval (1502-1580), the former Archbishop of Seville , was apparently buried there. In 1601 he commissioned the architect Francisco de Mora , who had already been involved in the construction of the Escorial, with the planning and construction of his new ducal palace, which, however, was not completed until 1617.
During the Spanish Civil War the building was used as a prison. Today it belongs to the Parador hotel chain .
architecture
facade
The three-storey facade, which takes up almost the entire width of the large main square in Lerma, is extremely clear and unadorned; even the simplest architectural structuring elements such as central and corner projections are missing. The entrance portal is only marked by two presented columns with a resting bezel . On both sides of the balcony window above there are coats of arms, which refer to the two titles of the duke and are each framed by a flower and fruit wreath with an integrated royal crown. The windows of the building do not have any facing gables; they increase in size slightly from bottom to top.
The corners of the palace are formed by four towers, the upper part of which is slightly loosened up by double corner pilasters etc. The erection of four-tower palaces was otherwise reserved for the king only; that they appear here at a ducal palace shows the high-ranking position the Duke of Lerma held at court.
patio
The building has a large, square inner courtyard surrounded by high arcades , which also lacks any decorative elements. The monolithic columns on the ground floor come from quarries that were owned by the Duke; the half-column templates on the upper floor show Ionic capitals . The patio is now covered by a pyramid-shaped plexiglass roof; To protect against excessive solar radiation, long lengths of fabric can be stretched during the day in summer.
Gardens
At the back of the palace there used to be a spacious garden with several fountains, small pavilions and a total of seven hermitages ( ermitas ) - only one of them has survived.
literature
- Asociación de Amigos del Palacio Ducal de Lerma (ed.): El Palacio Ducal de Lerma de ayer a hoy . Self-published, 2nd edition 2004 (without ISBN) [not evaluated]
Web links
Coordinates: 42 ° 1 ′ 33.5 ″ N , 3 ° 45 ′ 18 ″ W.